Team Camo, after its 2009 win in the Rio Grande cichlid competition at the New Orleans City Park Big Bass Rodeo.Big Bass Rodeo photo

And although fishing is the focus of the day, there are plenty of other activities. Madelyn Harris, 7, enjoys all the events for the little ones at the Fishtival, especially talking to "Coastie," the moving, water-shooting boat of the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

"The Coast Guard comes out with their remote-control boat. It talks and it squirts the kids with water," Chris Harris, Madelyn's dad, says. "That's what she can't wait to see."

But Madelyn loves one thing about the rodeo even more. "The best part is catching a fish," she says.

This will be Madelyn's third year to be part of Team Camo and compete in the Rio Grande cichlid division. She's the youngest member of the team.

The Rio Grande Roundup does more than entertain the teams that compete: It also helps control the Rio Grande cichlid, an aggressive invasive species of perch that hangs out in Bayou St. John and the City Park lagoons and competes with the other fish.

Rio Grande cichlids, native to the waterways of Mexico and southern Texas, are popular aquarium fish because of their iridescent green and blue markings. They started showing up in the mid-'90s.

"Now, we find them in all the waterways in our area," says Mark Schexnayder of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. "It probably started when somebody had them in an aquarium and let them go, not knowing what a problem they could be."

The problem became a major one after Hurricane Katrina. "When everything flooded, they went into the park system, and after the water went down, they just exploded," Schexnayder says.

Because the cichlids were able to tolerate post-Katrina conditions better than the native fish, they survived and began to take over. "We started restocking 2- to-3-pound bass back into the system," Schexnayder says. "Now, the native fish have come back and the cichlids aren't as prevalent."

But they're still a big problem, and extremely resilient. And other than restocking the local waterways with native fish and catching the Rio Grandes, there's no way to control them. "We've changed the rules so you can keep them when you catch them," Schexnayder says. "We want to encourage people not to throw them back."

You can leave the fish on the bank and return them to the water as fish food later, or you can feed them to your cat or even cook them for your family. "They're related to tilapia and are, in fact, delicious," he says. "They're good to eat and fun to catch."

Schexnayder wants people to understand that they should never just dump stuff into the environment. South Louisiana has dozens of invasive species, such as nutria, apple snails, Chinese tallow trees and water hyacinths, thriving where they don't belong and causing problems.

"It's a constant battle to educate people," he says.

He hopes that many new teams will sign up for the Rio Grande Roundup at the fishing rodeo to take hundreds of the invasive cichlids out of the park, and members of Team Camo hope so, too. They're looking for some competition.

"We have a large group of friends who fish, and every time we run across people fishing at City Park, we try to get them to participate," Madelyn's dad says.

Team Camo was named years ago by Ronnie Rauch and his son, Scott. It was made up of family members and Scott's high school friends, and many of them are still part of the team. In the beginning, they would win the Bream Buster competition consistently, and since the bream contest was replaced with the Rio Grande Roundup in 2008, they've won every year.

Now, they want to share the secrets of their success. When I talked to team member Kevin Schilling, he was happy to tell me everything he knows about fishing for cichlids, and he knows plenty. If you're a fisher, you've probably heard of Schilling recently. On Mardi Gras morning, he caught a 9-pound lunker bass at City Park to set an all-time record.

"I've been recognized by people, and I have no clue who they are," he says. "It was definitely a shock to catch a fish that big."

Schilling says there are three keys to Team Camo's year-after-year success.

The first thing he recommends is going to a sporting goods store and buying a pair of inexpensive polarized fishing glasses, to help spot the speckled cichlids in the water. "I've used the same pair for years," he says. "The water is plenty clear, and we win by walking around the pond and dropping our bait in front of a cichlid."

In 2008, the first year the rodeo was held post-Katrina, Team Camo caught 961 cichlids. "I was catching a cichlid every 30 seconds," Schilling says.

The second important rule gives Team Camo its name: "We're camouflaged for a reason," Schilling says. "If you're standing next to the lagoon dressed in a white T-shirt, the fish can see you."

The third thing he recommends is going to City Park the week before the rodeo and scouting the area to see where the cichlids are.

"If you follow those three rules, you'll have a better experience," he says.

Members of Team Camo count their 961 Rio Grende cichlids at the 2008 Big Bass Rodeo.Big Bass Rodeo photo

As far as what to use for bait, the cichlids will bite on pretty much anything.

See categories and rules and download registration forms and fishing maps at www.neworleanscitypark.com/bigbass. The Rio Grande Roundup is an event for teams of one to 10 members. The three teams that bring in the heaviest stringers of Rio Grande cichlids will receive an award.